Method of connecting a cable to supports



Dec. 3, 1957 w. H. O'CONNE-LL 2,814,861

METHOD OF-0NNECTING A CABLE TO SUPPORTS Filed April 7, 1954 7 Wm @J M ATTORNEY/6 United States Patent lVIETl-IOD F CONNECTING A CABLE T0 SUPPORTS William H. OConnell, St. Augustine, Fla.

Application April 7, 1954, Serial No. 421,575

1 Claim. (Cl. 29-423) The present invention relates to a method of making safety supporting assembly particularly adaptable for use in the construction of power lines, telephone lines, signal lines and the like.

An important object is to provide a method of making simple, eflicient and economical supporting member or hanger for overhead wires or conductors, including means for releasably securing a portion of the supporting member between the twisted strands of a fabric rope when the rope is in a slack position and the strands untwisted, so that upon again twisting the strands and taking up the slack on the rope, the hanger is firmly locked in a fixed position so as to safely support wires, cables or the like.

A further object comprehends the provision of a support-ing member or hanger in the form of a guide ring having a convoluted body provided with spaced free ends extending in opposite directions from the body to pro- 'vide a passage or opening for allowing the removal of a. .wire or cable previously drawn through the hanger and which is now secured in its fixed operative position.

A further object is to provide an improved method of inserting and removing a supporting member between the strands of a fabric rope so that the member may be maintained in a fixed position and readily removed rfrom the rope without requiring the use of tools or the like.

A still further object is to provide an improved method of connecting a cable or the like to spaced fixed supports including stretching a fabric rope between the fixed supports, then connecting a convoluted hanger having a T-shaped stem portion and spaced end portions that form a suspension hook, to a fabric rope by un-- twisting a portion of the strands of the rope, inserting the T-shaped portion into the rope between the loose strands, applying tension to the ends of the rope to tighten the same and maintain the hanger in a fixed position, and positioning the cable within the suspension hook of the convoluted hanger so as to be temporarily supported thereby.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying claim and drawings.

Referring to the drawings in which is shown one form the supporting assembly may assume:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a strand of twisted rope showing a portion thereof untwisted and the position the supporting member assumes when initially inserted between the loose strand-s;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the untwisted strands now twisted and tension applied to the rope so as to maintain the supporting member or hanger in a fixed position;

Figure 3 is a front end view of the supporting member shown detached from the rope; and

Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings, indicates a fabric rope ice formed of any number of separate strands 11. For the purpose of illustration, the rope is shown composed of tour strands. 12 indicates a supporting member in the form of a safety guide ring and having a convoluted body 13 provided with spaced ends 14 which overlap and extend in opposite directions from the body 13 to form a passage or opening 15 for a purpose subsequently to be described. Extending outwardly from an intermediate portion of the curved body 13 and radially thereof, is a stem portion 16 which terminates in a longitudinally extending end portion 17 so as to constitute a substantially T-shaped portion or member.

It will be seen that when a portion of the strands 11 of the rope 10 are untwisted as indicated at 18 in Figure 1, the horizontal end portion 17 of the support or hanger 12 may be inserted betwe-enthe loose strands so as to extend longitudinally or axially of the rope between the strands 11. Upon the twisting or turningof the opened or loose strands, when the end portion 17 is positioned therebetween, the strands 11 will overlap the end portion 17 of the member 12 and be. locked in a fixed position by the engagement of the twisted strands 19 therewith (Fig. 2). Manifestly,-the rope 10 may be of any length and size desired and one or more of the supporting members or hangers 12 may be connected to the rope at longitudinally spaced points thereon. The :arm portion 16 is connected to the body 13 and the horizontal end portion 17 in any suitable manner such 'as by welding as at 20. 'It will be noted that the T-shaped member thus is provided with a vertical arm 16 and a horizontal arm 17 of substantially the same diameters and that the horizontal arm 17 extends outwardly in opposite directions beyond the spaced ends 14 (Fig. 4). In other words, the arm 17 is of such length as to insure all the strands 11 of the rope 10 being wrapped around the horizontal portion 17 so as to insure the convoluted body or anchor 13 being maintained in a fixed position (Fig. 2). Further, the T-shaped member is initially inserted between the loose strands without the necessity of removing or cutting any of these strands.

Assuming that the supporting assembly is to be used to place a wire, cable or the like such as 21 shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, in a fixed operative position, the tension on the rope 10 is withdrawn or relaxed so that the rope assumes a slack position. The portion 18 of the rope to which the member or hanger 12 is to be connected then has its strands 11 untwisted so as to assume the loose position as shown in Figure 1. The horizontal end 17 of the hanger is then inserted between the strands so as to extend lengthwise or axially thereof. The end portion 17 is of sufiicient length as to be engaged by a substantial portion of the strands 11 so as to firmly maintain the hanger 12 in a fixed position when the parts are assembled. The untwisted portions 18 are now twisted to their initial or original positions with the end 17 of the hanger 12 embedded therein as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2. The rope 10 is then subjected to tension or pulled tight and connected at its ends to a suitable fixed support. The hanger 12 is now maintained in a fixed position and the wire or cable 21 as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2 is drawn through the open ring or loop portion of the body 13 so as to be installed in a fixed operative position. When the wire 21 has been fastened to its support, the tension on the rope 10 is relaxed and the strands untwisted as at 18 so that the end portion 17 of the hanger 12 may be turned sideways, in order to allow the hanger 12 to be withdrawn or removed from the rope 10 and from the wire 21 through the passage 15 without disturbing the fixed position of the wire 21 when the latter is fastened in its operative position.

Thus, it will be seen that a supporting assembly is provided which may be readily installed at a minimum expenditure of time, effort and cost and which provides safety means that can efficiently be used in the construction of various types of power, telephone and signal lines and the like. The rope 10 may be of'any length as desired and any number of the supporting members 12 may be longitudinally connected to the rope at spaced points so as to temporarily suspend the wire 21 to properly install the same. Additionally, when the wire 21 is fastened in place, the rope 10 as Well as the hanger 12 may be removed without disturbing the wire 21, by loosening the strands of rope and turning the hanger 12 so as to withdraw the same from the wire 21 between the space 15. The size of the supporting members or hangers 12 may be varied in accordance with the size of the rope with which they are to be used and the hangers 12 may be made either of metal, plastic or other suitable durable material.

It will be understood that the form of the invention shown is merely illustrative and such changes may be made as come within the purview of the following claim.

I claim:

The method of connecting a cable to spaced fixed supports including stretching fabric rope between said fixed supports, connecting a convoluted hanger having a T-shaped stem portion and spaced end portions forming a suspension hook to said fabric rope by untwisting a portion of the strands of the rope, inserting the T-shaped portion into the rope between the loose strands without removing any of the strands so that the horizontal arm of the T-shaped portion extends longitudinally of the rope, twisting the loose strands so that they all completely wrap around the horizontal arm, applying tension to the ends of the rope to tighten the same to maintain the hanger in a fixed position relative to the rope, positioning the cable within the suspension hook of the convoluted hanger so as to be temporarily supported thereby, connecting the ends of the cable to the spaced fixed supports, loosening the strands, so as to withdraw the horizontal arm of the hanger from the rope, and then turning the hanger so as to withdraw the cable from the hook without disturbing the fixed position of the cable and its connection with the spaced supports.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 632,584 Oehring Sept. 5, 1899 824,645 Gyllenberg June 26, 1906 1,350,632 Albrecht Aug. 24, 1920 1,531,977 Ritch et a1 Mar. 31, 1925 1,702,946 Rowers et a1 Feb. 19, 1929 2,470,878 Tate May 24, 1949 2,503,648 Zeigler Apr. 11, 1950 

